Cole Palmer has already surpassed Gianfranco Zola's performances at Chelsea and could write his name in Blues history if he guides them to the Premier League title.
That was the message from Jamie Carragher after Palmer's double penalty helped Enzo Maresca's side to an exciting 4-3 victory over Tottenham on Sunday.
Palmer has now scored from all 12 of his Premier League penalties – the most in the competition's history without ever missing, after surpassing Yaya Toure's 11 penalties for Manchester City.
The England midfielder was also involved in 50 goals (33 goals, 17 assists) in just 48 Premier League games for Chelsea, a feat surpassed by only three players.
Erling Haaland for Man City (39), Andy Cole for Newcastle United (43) and Mohamed Salah for Liverpool (46) are the only trio to reach that total in fewer appearances for a club in the competition.
Carragher believes Palmer has already secured Chelsea stardom, although more glory could await the Manchester City academy product.
“If you think of Chelsea's flair players like Gianfranco Zola and Eden Hazard, I think Palmer has done more than Zola in 18 months. Zola is one of Chelsea's greatest ever players,” the former Liverpool defender told Sky Sports.
“He's on the same level as Hazard over a period of four or five years. If he takes Chelsea to the title, he would go down as one of their best ever players if he keeps doing what he's doing. a special player.” .”
Maresca's group of young talents are just four points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, whose match against Everton on Saturday was postponed due to bad weather.
However, there was a storm of a different nature at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as Chelsea came from 2-0 down to pull off a remarkable turnaround.
Enzo Fernandez and Jadon Sancho were both on target, along with Palmer's cool spot-kick heroics, highlighting the abundance of quality Maresca has to offer.
However, Carragher refuses to accept the Blues' early success as a rags-to-riches story.
“This Chelsea team is not an underdog story,” the former Liverpool defender added. “This is a team that has spent £1.2 billion but what they are doing this season is something completely unexpected.
“This club is ready for a title challenge.”
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